ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2026.05.012
Typology, Technology, and Social Function of Nomadic Bronze Knives in the Eurasian Steppe
Gandige, Ts. Batsaikhan*
Department of Food, Light Industry and Design, Mongolian University of Science and Technology, Ulaanbaatar 17010, Mongolia.
*Corresponding author: Ts. Batsaikhan
Published: May 29,2026
Abstract
This study takes the bronze knife of the Eurasian grassland as the research object and explores the relationship between technological dissemination, artifact function, and identity symbolism in early nomadic society. Relying on the archaeological materials of South Siberia, the Mongolian Plateau, and northern China, the research sorts out the evolution of knives from stone and bone shapes to metal shapes, and clarifies the role of the Seima-Turbino metallurgical tradition in the standardization process of grassland bronze knife shape. The study divides bronze knives into twelve categories, including straight-backed short knives, arc-backed long knives, ring-headed knives, and beast-headed decorative knives. With the help of this type classification, analyze the functional evolution of the bronze knife from a practical tool to a ceremonial tool and identity sign. In terms of production technology, grassland bronze craftsmen adopt double casting, tin bronze alloy smelting, and composite tool holder assembly technology. These process choices are doubly affected by local resource conditions and cross-regional metallurgical technology exchanges and dissemination. The spatial distribution of bronze knives shows that its spread shows stage characteristics: starting from the core region of West Siberia, it gradually spreads eastward to the Mongolian Plateau and northern China, and forms many regional variants in the process. The ceremonial bronze knives unearthed in high-level tombs show that such artifacts have gone beyond the scope of daily use and become material symbols that highlight the identity of the elite class and maintain ethnic identity. There is a continuation of the form between the bronze knife and the iron knife of the early Iron Age, which further confirms the inheritance of the grassland knife tradition.
Keywords
Bronze knife; Eurasian Steppe; mould casting; bronze metallurgy; technological transmission
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Copyright
© 2026 by the author(s).
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How to cite this paper
Typology, Technology, and Social Function of Nomadic Bronze Knives in the Eurasian Steppe
How to cite this paper: Gandige, Ts. Batsaikhan. (2026) Typology, Technology, and Social Function of Nomadic Bronze Knives in the Eurasian Steppe. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 10(5), 577-583.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2026.05.012